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It has to be hard to be homeless. Besides needing food and shelter, it has to be difficult to remain clean! The homeless often wear their clothes continuously and showers are infrequent at best. I had a friend who understood this. A man came to our church asking for help. We were in a small town, so there were no services or missions for the homeless to help him. So, my friend, Sid, took him home to make him lunch. While he was fixing the meal, Sid offered the man the use of his shower. The man accepted. He left Sid’s house full and clean.
This provides another illustration of the word poor in the Beatitude about the poor in spirit in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”(NIV)
You see, like the financially poor, the poor in spirit realize they need to be clean spiritually. However, they also know they can’t provide any cleansing for themselves. Rather, they must rely on the mercy and grace of God to provide the spiritual cleansing they need. That cleansing is provided by Jesus.
Are you poor in spirit? Do you realize that you can’t feed your spiritual hunger or provide any spiritual cleansing? Do you approach God with the dependence of a beggar, that is, seeking his mercy? If so, then yours is the kingdom of heaven!
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.